Exclusive — Energy For Trump Explosive In Las Vegas At Freedom Fest

Getty Images10 Jul 2015Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — He’s got a golden building with a five-star hotel right off Las Vegas Boulevard with his last name emblazoned across its top—but no casino inside since his fellow billionaire casino mogul Steve Wynn has for years blocked his access to a gambling license here—and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is stealing the show here at the annual Freedom Fest conference.

“I think that for years we’ve been clamoring for politicians to tell us the truth, and what happened is he said some things that can very well be unpopular and perhaps it was a bit brash but ultimately he was trying to tackle the issue of illegal immigration and the danger that an open border poses—it’s some very real stuff—but now there’s this odd public backlash,” Greg Campbell from Politistick, a new media blog site, said in an interview on the Mezzanine level of the Planet Hollywood Casino and Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Campbell, who personally adores Trump and has for years, told Breitbart News that most of his wardrobe is filled Trump merchandise: Ties, shirts, cuff links and more. In fact, the cuff links he was wearing here on Thursday when he sat down with Breitbart News were Trump cuff links.

“No matter how you feel about Donald Trump as a businessman or as a political candidate, one thing is simply undeniable: His corporation makes fantastic clothes,” Campbell said. “Half my professional wardrobe is Donald Trump attire.”

“I’m even wearing Donald Trump cuff links as we speak,” Campbell added, holding up his wrist to show off the silvery Trump gear on his arm.

Richard Miniter, the CEO of the American Media Institute—an organization that helps push investigative journalism into mainstream media outlets—told Breitbart News in an interview here that Trump is resonating nationwide because he’s so “unpredictable and entertaining.”

“Donald Trump is always fun to watch because you never know what he is going to say next,” Miniter said.

In fact, I don’t even think he knows what he is going to say next. Donald Trump is unpredictable and entertaining. Ultimately, I don’t think he is going to become the nominee of any major political party because we’ve kind of decided over the last 70-80 years in American politics that we want our major party candidates to be disciplined and focused and say the same thing to different groups of voters, not make it up as you go along. The presidency is not something you can wing. On the other hand, he’s raising a lot of issues other candidates are afraid to touch such as immigration, such as trade with China, and that does resonate with people especially the white working class which was the mainstay of the Democratic Party for many years but now seems to be in play. Those are your Reagan Democrats and the [5 million who stayed home when Mitt Romney was the GOP nominee], 7 million by some counts.

“People love a fighter,” Miniter added. “He’s clear in what he has to say and he’s clear and he’s engaging. And he doesn’t seem to have a lot of jargon. All of those things are attractive and interesting. Heck, I like to watch Trump. But I like bull fights and demolition derbies too.”

Wayne Allyn Root, businessman and 2008 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential candidate who’s out with a new book “The Power of Relentless,” told Breitbart News he’s massively impressed with Trump on the campaign trail. Root is involved in Nevada Republican politics, so his effusive praise for Trump may go a long way in this early state.

“Look at Donald Trump: If you tell the truth, Democrats destroy your life,” Root said in an interview with Breitbart News here.

He’s out at NBC. He’s out at Univision. He’s out at Serta Mattresses. He’s out of the PGA. He’s out at Macy’s. Why aren’t conservatives out boycotting Macy’s? Why aren’t we boycotting San Francisco, a sanctuary city? We’ve got to do something that hurts them, that takes their money away that disturbs them, that punishes them, because elections no longer seem to matter. There has got to be consequences.

Asked about the new Economist/YouGov poll that has Trump in first place nationally, Root said the poll proves that the Republican nominee in 2016 will either be Trump or Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

“That’s the two that really have the best shot or will win the nomination for the GOP,” Root said. “The establishment, they may well be Democrats at this point. That’s the disdain I have for the establishment of the Republican Party yet I’m still a proud Republican. I just think our party has been hijacked by idiots and people who believe in the agenda of corporate America rather than the agenda of the middle class.”

Matt Nye of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a group that supports political outsiders like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY), told Breitbart News that Trump is resonating for a reason.

“I disagree with him on a lot of policy positions but I think the reason he’s so popular is because he actually speaks his mind,” Nye said in an interview here.

He will not back down. I believe for the most part, he believes what he says—and he’s paying a price for it with some of these businesses’ actions—and I think the American people are just so starved for leadership and somebody who will stand up that even though we may not agree with 50 percent or even 70 percent of what he says, just the fact that somebody is willing to stand up and not back down on these issues is so refreshing.